OUR STORY
Changing Lives Four Paws at a Time
UTD SIT is a collegiate group supported by Canine Companions for Independence. We give students the opportunity to raise and train puppies with Canine Companions, and these puppies go on to do great things. These puppies may go on to be service dogs for those with physical or mental disabilities, hearing aids, facility dogs, or as various other supporters.
​
We began as an organization at the University of Texas at Dallas in 2016 and have grown and expanded our reach. Our proximity to the Canine Companions for Independence Kinkeade Campus allows us many opportunities to serve in our community.
How it Works
Our puppies are bred in Santa Rosa, California by Canine Companions. All puppies are Labradors, Golden Retrievers, or a mix of the two. They live with their dam and littermate until about eight weeks old, when they are shipped countrywide to their puppy raisers.
Puppy raisers are responsible for teaching their puppy certain basic commands and for socializing the puppy so that it has been exposed to as many things, places, and people as possible. Each puppy lives with its raiser for about eighteen months and then is returned to its regional headquarters (for us, the puppies go to Irving) in a matriculation ceremony.
After matriculation, the puppies spend six to nine months in professional training where they learn advanced commands to prepare for working as an assistance dog. The next step in the process is team training, where the puppies meet people who are potential matches. During this team training, people and puppies mix and match until they have created a bond with someone in particular.
The final step in the Canine Companions for Independence journey is a graduation, where each service dog graduates as a team with its person.